


I Can't Tell My Friends

by drsquee



Category: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Car Sex, Confusion, Denial of Feelings, F/M, Feelings Realization, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Mental Health Issues, Oral Sex, Pining, Porn with Feelings, Romantic Friendship, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:14:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28966671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drsquee/pseuds/drsquee
Summary: Neighbour/FWB AU.Part-time model Fluttershy meets and embarks on a "no-strings attached" friendship with her eccentric neighbour Discord.But neither realise that the more time they spend together, the more hopelessly entangled they become.
Relationships: Discord/Fluttershy (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 34





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a lil AU thing I'm writing on the side for fun so please don't ask about updates. 
> 
> Over 18 only as this will be very NSFW. I've tried to tag as much as possible but if I miss anything please let me know. I'll update them as the story progresses if needs be.

Fluttershy bit her lower lip and tried not to sigh as her longtime friend Rarity fussed with her hair, trying to get every single strand in some specific place. “Ah, Rarity? Please don’t fret, I’m sure it looks fine".

“Darling, FINE is not FABULOUS and I absolutely refuse to let you go out there looking less than so” Rarity replied briskly, replacing the hair brush in her hand with a tube of lipstick, cupping Fluttershy’s chin and urging her face upwards, applying more to her lips. “And PLEASE try not to bite your lips darling, you’ll rub it off and get lipstick on your teeth”. Snapping the cap back on, Rarity moved away, putting away her cosmetics and other bits as she muttered to herself, most likely checking off the things she needed to do next.

Fluttershy pressed her lips together, partially to rub in and even out the fresh lipstick, partially to try stem her anxiety. She always got nervous before a modelling shoot; or any sort of social interaction that required her to be the focal point, to be honest. Being out with her friends wasn’t so bad, it was easier to blend in with people she felt comfortable with. But being front and centre made her stiffen with fright, panic coursing through her and shutting her down in a snap. Fluttershy felt a tendril of it creep up inside her and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and holding it before letting it out slowly, putting a hand on her chest to help steady herself.

Rarity glanced at her friend as she finished packing and crouched in front of her, taking her hand with an earnest expression adorning her gorgeous features. “Are you alright darling? You know I appreciate that you always agree to model my designs for me, even though doing the shoots makes you nervous...we don’t have to go through with it if you’re not comfortable though".

Fluttershy opened her eyes and smiled down at her friend, squeezing her hand back comfortingly. “I’m fine Rarity, and it’s ok, I don’t mind helping out a friend". She looked down at the ensemble she was wearing, one of Rarity's latest creations. “Besides, it’s always nice being able to wear one of your outfits, they’re so beautiful”.

“And you always look stunning in them Dear" Rarity said, beaming with pride as she stood, flicking her perfectly coiffed hair back over her shoulder. She looked at her watch and squeaked. “Eek! We must get moving! They’ll eat us alive if we’re not there on time".

Fluttershy stood, careful to pick up the dress so the hem wasn’t touching the floor and potentially getting stood on, or ripped. She followed Rarity out of the dressing room down a hallway, trying to keep up with Rarity's brisk business-like stride, surreptitiously glancing from side to side as they walked. The location they’d come to for today’s shoot wasn’t like the studio she was used to; it was a large manor house, more like a hotel than anything else. Everything seemed to be made of polished wood or resplendent gold or fancy patterned China and it only served to make Fluttershy feel even more out of place.

They went up a large set of steps and turned into a hallway where a man dressed in a shiny silver-grey suit with the most bouffant hair Fluttershy had ever seen, was waiting for them in front of set of double wooden doors, inspecting his fingernails despite the fact he was wearing sunglasses. Hearing their footsteps, he looked up and smiled widely, obvious pleasure on his face. “Rarity, my dear! Finally! I was starting to worry!”.

Rarity grinned happily back, holding out her hands for him to take, pressing a kiss to each of his cheeks as he did the same. “Now Hoity, I would never miss an opportunity to showcase my creations, especially to someone with such a reputation as yourself! If there is one person I trust in this industry to keep me in the know, it’s you!”.

Hoity Toity barked a laugh, flapping a perfectly manicured hand at Rarity. “Such a sweet talker you are! But that is one of the things I love about you". They shared a conspiratorial giggle together as Fluttershy shuffled awkwardly behind Rarity, Hoity casting a critical eye at her over Rarity's shoulder. “Is this the piece you’re showcasing today?”.

Rarity stepped back, putting her hands on Fluttershys shoulders and urging her forward. “Oh this is just one of many, I brought up the rest earlier so that they’d be ready. Always helps to be prepared" she said with a wink. “My friend Fluttershy has graciously agreed to once again wear my designs for me. I would be lost without her kindness" Rarity hummed, squeezing Fluttershy’s shoulders minutely, Fluttershy giving her a small nervous smile.

Hoity adjusted his glasses. “Yes, I thought you looked familiar dearie. You don’t model for a living?”. He gently touched the underside of her chin with the tips of his fingers. “Such wonderful bone structure”. Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply but Hoity had already moved on, turning back to Rarity. “Good thing you’re both here now anyway, we have a new photographer here today and he’s making everyone feel....” he paused, trying to find the right words. “Antsy".

Rarity stepped in front of Fluttershy, her face a mask of concern. “Oh no, what happened to Photo Finish?! Is she alright?”

Hoity flapped his hand at her again. “Oh nothing to worry about my dear, she just couldn’t make the trip back from Manehattan is all! Her flight was delayed and then cancelled and she couldn’t get back here in time to do the shoot. Bad luck is all, but she called me up and reassured me that she’d sent a replacement who was available today”. His brow furrowed. “She did warn me that he was an...odd, fellow but I didn’t realise just how....odd".

Fluttershy breathed an inner sigh of relief. As much as she respected Photo Finish and her craft, she was very brash and loud, barking one syllable orders at Fluttershy and her assistants. Knowing that she wouldn’t have to deal with her today made Fluttershy feel a bit more at ease for a moment before a tendril of anxiety snaked it’s way into the back of her mind at the thought of meeting this new “odd" photographer.

Hoity stepped back and knocked on the doors lightly, opening them and leading the pair inside the room. “Sorry to have kept you waiting, everyone is here now”.

Fluttershy walked in behind Rarity, staring at the ground as she clasped her hands in front of her tightly. Stopping next to Rarity, Fluttershy gave her a nervous smile as Rarity placed a reassuring hand on our shoulder. “So sorry if we’ve disrupted you, we-".

“Yes yes, come in come in” the photographer said, his voice pulling Fluttershy’s attention to him instantly, blinking in surprise when she got her first good look at him.

The first thing she noticed was that he was tall. Very tall. A feature that wouldn’t have been so odd if it hadn’t been for the fact that it was accentuated by him wearing a headband with horns on it. A twisted blue goat horn and a long spindly deer antler to be precise. His hair was short and black with vivid grey strands at each temple. His eyebrows were white and bushy, as was the straggly goatee that hung from his chin but those were the only features on his body that even came close to similarity. He wore a brown suit jacket that had yellow sleeves although even those were mismatched: one was a sandy gold colour, the other a vivid lemon yellow. His brown suit pants were tucked into his boots, which were two completely different colours: one was green, the other brown. Fluttershy wondered if he'd deliberately painted them different colours or had bought two different pairs and just mixed them up.

Such was his strange appearance that it completely threw her off guard and she forgot all about her own anxieties for a brief moment. That was until he stopped fiddling with his camera and turned his attention to them, Fluttershy feeling almost turned to stone when his eyes landed on her. Bright yellow with blood red pupils bored into her, Fluttershy feeling her whole body turn cold then hot; her palms were sweaty yet there were goosebumps along her neck and arms.

She quickly dropped her eyes, hands tightening as he walked over, her eyes flicking to look over his mismatched shoes as they came to a stop in front of her. “So! What exactly is this is in aid of hmm?” he asked, his voice low and yet pitched at the same time, a strange drawl to his tone that managed to sound both intrigued and bored at the same time.

“I...I beg your pardon?” Rarity stammered, clearly as thrown off track as everyone else.

He tutted, Fluttershy glancing up to see him fiddling with his camera yet again. “Yes, what exactly am I shooting today? An interview? Poster shots? Advertisements?”. He looked up, a note of excitement lacing his voice as he spoke.

Rarity blinked, clearly taken aback by his abruptness and coughed lightly to hide her discomfort. “Why, it’s a fashion shoot of course!”. She gestured to Fluttershy, who couldn’t help but cower slightly as the man's eyes slid over to her, his expression unimpressed. “I need pictures of my new line for publication in this months Fair Mare magazine...did Photo Finish not explain-".

“A fashion shoot” he repeated, distaste evident in his tone, Rarity bristling in indignation.

“YES. A FASHION SHOOT" Rarity growled, her jaw clenching in anger as the man huffed and moved away from them, grabbing a long thin pole from where it lay against the wall of the room and briskly snapping it into a tri-pod. He set it on the floor and pulled a thin rod out from it, Fluttetshy realising that he was setting up a mini backdrop.

Rarity straightened, putting her hands on her hips as she stepped towards him, the man ignoring her as he continued to set up. “Now listen here you! You may not think much of it, but fashion isn’t just clothing! Its an expression of one self! Their thoughts, their feelings! You can tell so much about a person by the clothes they wear, and we designers but a lot of time and effort into making sure people can share themselves with the world around them! It’s also an expression of OUR true selves, and I wont have my art, my craft, be ‘huffed’ at in such a derogatory tone by someone who hasn’t even got the decency to introduce themselves!”.

There was a click and something small went flying in Rarity's direction, Rarity fumbling as it hit her in the chest before catching it, squinting as she held it up to examine it with Fluttershy and Hoity Toity leaning over her shoulder curiously. It was a small dishevelled business card, its edges curled and worn slightly. It read “Discord – Lord of Chaos” on one side and when Rarity turned it over, there was only a faded QR barcode box.

“Discord?” Fluttershy read aloud, flushing and quickly turning away when he turned to look at who had spoken his name, pretending instead to inspect the room to avoid his piercing gaze.

“Just the one name? Rather cliche isn’t it?” Rarity scoffed, waving the card as he walked over to Fluttershy.

“Oh I don’t know about that, RARITY" he taunted, smirking when she stuttered in protest, her face turning red. He held out his hand to Fluttershy who blinked down at it owlishly. “Over here please".

Fluttershy hesitated then laid her hand in his, letting him lead her over to the backdrop as Rarity muttered darkly under her breath, pulling out her phone and scanning the QR code, moving off to read whatever had popped up with Hoity following like a shadow.

Discord led Fluttershy to the centre of the backdrop then turned and walked back to his camera where he’d placed it on his tripod, barely giving her a second glance. She stood nervously, shifting from foot to foot as she looked at the doors Rarity had exited through, wondering whether she was coming back or not. She reached up to tug at a lock of her hair- an anxiety trait that had ingrained itself in her long ago – but when she grabbed nothing, she remembered that her hair had been pinned up and tugged on the lobe of her ear instead, a poor substitute. Feeling her anxiety rise, she clutched her hands together again tightly in front of her, chewing the inside of her bottom lip.

“First time?”.

Fluttershy blinked and looked up. Discord had moved to one of his light set ups and began tinkering with it, moving it here and there. “P-pardon?”.

“First time modelling?” he asked, adjusting a beauty box back slightly and going back to his camera, looking through the lens before going back and moving the light minutely again.

“N-no I...I just-" she looked away, her attention being drawn to a nearby window. She craned her neck as she watched a bird fly by, desperately wishing she was with it. “I don’t like....focus".

Discord scoffed. “Kinda the wrong profession to be in if you don’t like people looking at you, isn’t it?" he retorted, glancing up to see her attention was being drawn elsewhere. He raised an eyebrow, turning to look out the window as well, frowning when he couldn’t see anything of interest. He turned to question her and stopped at the expression on her face.

Her eyes were soft, her expression wistful as desperate longing filled her features. He could almost hear her thoughts, could see her wishing for her own wings, to fly and escape. Edging backwards, Discord positioned his camera and snapped a photo. The sound of the shutter made Fluttershy jump, pulling her out of her thoughts as she looked around worriedly. Discord grinned at her. “Camera’s working".

Fluttershy blinked at him then dropped her head to look at her feet instead, her cheeks reddening. There was a moment of awkward silence between them, Discord rubbing the back of his neck as an urge to apologise came over him, which he quickly battled down. He felt ridiculous. Apologise for what?

He moved to speak when the doors were flung open, Rarity stalking back inside with Hoity Toity following close behind, a wave of assistants on their heels bringing in Rarity’s array of outfits and other assortments. “Well, I’ve checked out your credentials, made some calls of my own to confirm you are indeed legitimate, Mr Discord, and while I am impressed by your resume, I still find your attitude to be undesirable. I hope we can put our earlier disagreement to one side and work together going forward?” Rarity asked, her head held high as she spoke, her entire being radiating authority as she held out his business card between two well manicured fingers.

Discord smirked at her as he took it, pocketing it inside his jacket. “Mr Discord?” he said in amusement as Rarity turned to Fluttershy, her expression creasing with concern in an instant as she went to Fluttershy’s side, taking hold of her hands.

“Darling are you alright?? What happened?” Rarity asked, turning to glare at Discord. “You weren’t cruel to her were you!?”.

Discord held up his hands in submission, his grin widening as his eyes sparkled with mirth, Fluttershy pulling Rarity’s attention back to her by tugging on her hands. “No no, Rarity, I’m fine, he didn’t do anything” she said, Rarity’s concern touching but getting tiring. She just wanted to get the whole affair over with.

Rarity raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re sure?”. Fluttershy nodded and let go of her hands, taking a step back. “Can we please just...carry on? I’m fine and I would like to get home and sort out my schedule for the sanctuary...” she trailed off, Rarity pausing for a moment to study her then nodding, Discord watching the whole affair with quiet interest.

“Yes yes, let’s get on with it! No time like the present” Rarity said, clapping her hands together sharply and startling everyone in the vicinity, Fluttershy jumping then blushing with embarrassment.

Rarity walked to stand next to Discord behind the camera, giving him a suspicious glare as she folded her arms. Discord rolled his eyes with a tut before checking his camera one more time then looking up at Fluttershy. “Whenever your ready".

Fluttershy took a deep breath.

* * *

Fluttershy sighed heavily as she was zipped into the last of Rarity’s creations, thankful that the session was finally coming to an end.

She had posed and preened and spun and stood up and sat down and her legs were tired and her eyes hurt and UGH.

She stifled another sigh as one of Rarity’s assistants gripped her chin, reapplying mascara and more powder before letting go, moving away so another could step around and adjust the flowers in her hair. Her scalp was beginning to ache, having been pulled back for so long and so tightly. She winced then smiled apologetically when the assistant glanced at her before moving away, Fluttershy discreetly slipping a finger under the choker to try and ease the feel of it against her neck.

She glanced at Rarity, who was stood beside Discord, loudly expressing her opinions over the shots he had taken during the session. His expression was dark, his brow creased and his eyes were almost slit like, his jaw clenching as he ground his teeth, gripping his camera tightly as Rarity and Hoity Toity's voices became even louder, Fluttershy feeling sorry for him. He looked so miserable.

Then he exploded.

“ALRIGHT! THATS IT! IVE HAD ENOUGH!”. Discord turned, rounding on Rarity and Hoity, his eyes ablaze as he pointed at them then the door. “BOTH OF YOU! OUT. IN FACT, EVERYONE! OUT! NOW!”.

“I beg your pardon!? You can’t talk to us like that!” Rarity railed back, squaring up to him despite the fact that the top of her head reached his shoulders, jabbing a sharp fingernail in his chest as Hoity glared at Discord over the rim of his sunglasses.

“You’ve done nothing but squawk orders at everyone ever since you stepped foot in here and you’ve been overly opinionated on how these photos were taken the entire time! You’ve had that poor girl up there in ridiculous outfits all day, in exactly the same positions and poses and its exhausting, not to mention BORING!”. He jabbed at thumb at himself, practically growling at Rarity. “I am the photographer here, not you, I decide what works and what doesn’t!”.

Fluttershy stepped up to them, looking back and forth between the two. “Please, don’t fight! We can talk about this-".

“HOW DARE YOU! BORING!? YOU THINK SOME MISMATCHED SHOES AND A POORLY SEWN SUIT JACKET MEANS YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CREATIVITY!?” Rarity screeched back, Discord clenching his hands into fists. “You wouldn’t know creativity if it came and dropped a brick on you!”. Fluttershy’s lip trembled as their shouting escalated, closing her eyes in frustration.

“EVERYONE JUST STOP!”.

The room went quiet, Fluttershy slowly opening her eyes to see everyone had stopped and turned to stare at her in shock. She felt her face grow hot with embarrassment and looked at the ground, taking a deep breath before looking back up at them both. “Rarity, you need to leave Discord alone and let him do his job. He knows what he’s doing and if you have suggestions, then tell him but at the end of the day, it’s his decision how he takes them. If you don’t like the end result, then don’t use them but you have to at least give him a chance. Photo Finish did trust him to do the job in her place after all and you trust her right?”.

Rarity’s brow creased, looking suitably chastened. “I do...and you’re right" she sighed. “I suppose I let my stress get the better of me...I apologise, Discord, for my behaviour, it was unseemly of me" she said, rubbing her arm as she apologised, feeling awkward, which turned to a frown when Discord smirked and poked his tongue out at her cheekily.

“And YOU" Fluttershy said, rounding on Discord, who blinked at her in surprise. “You have been nothing but rude and dismissive since we’ve met. You may not appreciate Rarity’s craft but you will respect that she is your client and paying you for your time!”.

Discord blinked rapidly at her then snorted, full of contempt as he strode towards the door. “I’m going to the bathroom” he announced loudly, almost slamming the doors behind him. Fluttershy let out a huge breath, feeling weak, her body trembling as the people around her began to move again, the spell that had been cast on the room seemingly broken with Discord’s departure.

Rarity laid a hand on her shoulder, smiling reassuringly. “Don’t worry darling, he’ll be back, he probably just needs a minute...I bet he’s never been called out like that in public before". She leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. “Neither have I but I don’t mind...I’m proud of you for speaking up" she said with a wink.

Fluttershy smiled back weakly and moved back and out from under Rarity’s touch, feeling overwhelmed. “Could we....could I just....I need a break...w-wuh-would it be ok if I just have...a few minutes alone?” she asked, her voice practically a whisper as she looked pleadingly at Rarity.

Rarity nodded. “Of course darling, anything you need". Turning, she and Hoity Toity began to corral the people from the room, Fluttershy almost collapsing once the door had closed and she was alone in the room.

She staggered over to the bay window and quickly sat down, massaging her temples in an attempt to ease the pain. When it began to subside, Fluttershy leaned down and pulled off her heels, pulling up her legs and laying back against the wall to rest as she held the shoes in her lap. Closing her eyes, she wiggled her toes, revelling in the small freedom and the feeling of it relief it brought after being subjected to the tight confines of the fancy footwear.

Opening her eyes slightly, Fluttershy looked out the window at the gardens of the manor that sat below, wishing she could be down there. Such a shame, she would have felt so much more at ease taking pictures outside; being inside was stifling and confining. Seeing birds fly above, feeling the wind on her skin and in her hair, the soft feel of grass beneath her feet was so much more preferable to her then anything found inside a house. Although she had to admit, cosying up with a big blanket and a hot cup of tea with one of her favourite books or a small bit of sewing was incredibly relaxing and one of her favourite ways to unwind.

The sound of the door closing made Fluttershy sit up, thinking that it was Rarity who had come back in, turning to greet her.

Her eyes widened upon seeing Discord standing there, his arms folded as he looked at her, silence filling the room like a bubble. Fluttershy clutched the shoes in her lap slightly tighter, jolting slightly when he spoke.

“Y’know, you’re kinda cute when you’re angry".

Fluttershy’s cheeks went hot, looking at the shoes in her lap instead, clutching them tighter and hearing them creak with the pressure.

“I thought it might just be all the makeup they smeared on you -lord knows they put enough of it on you- but close up, I can see you’re naturally pretty too...I bet you get told that all the time though".

“Only when I’m dressed up like this" the words fell out of her mouth like water, without even a thought. She glanced at Discord who was staring at her in surprise and quickly looked away again, covering her mouth lightly with the tips of her fingers.

Discord blinked at her, his mouth quirking into a crooked grin. “Bit of an onion, aren’t you?”.

“P-pardon? O-onion?” Fluttershy stuttered, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as he began to move around the room, taking down the backdrop and rolling it up. “LAYERS dear, layers, and I’m not just talking about that ensemble you’re stuffed into" he retorted, gesturing to her. He finished putting away the back drop and began to gather up the few lights he had put out, Fluttershy realising that he was packing away and jolting up in panic. “A-are you leaving?! Is this because...be cause of me? Oh dear...but-but Rarity's photos-"

“No need to fret, your friend Rarity and I came to an arrangement" Discord replied, checking over his equipment before packing it away, grabbing his camera and fiddling with it as he walked over to her. “She apologised for her overbearing attitude and I told her that I accepted her apology, but I would only finish the shoot on one condition”.

Fluttershy furrowed her brow slightly as he came to a stop in front of her, craning her neck to look up at him. Without her heels, she only just came up to his chest, the crown of her head reaching up to his armpit. A shiver of unease went through her with him being so close but she no longer felt as intimidated by him as she had done when they first met. She chalked it down to tiredness. “Condition?”.

“Yes”. He smiled down at her crookedly. “My condition is that you and I take the rest of the photos together...alone".

Fluttershy blinked up at him wide-eyed, stifling the urge to take a step back. “A-alone? But-but why?”.

“Several reasons really, although there are two main ones: one, I’ll be able to indulge my creativity and two...well, that was for you really”. He stroked his beard, looking her over. “Having so many people in the room at once wasn’t just stifling me but you as well; your movements and posture were so rigid, so stiff, you looked like you might shatter with a slight breeze. With just the two us, you can breathe a little easier and relax, which will also help me – I prefer working with a willing participant after all". He paused and lidded his eyes. “You can always say no, you know".

Fluttershy hesitated, chewing the inside of her bottom lip then narrowed her eyes at him. “Did you apologise too?”.

He blinked at her. “Pardon?”.

“When Rarity apologised for shouting at you, did you apologise also for your rudeness?”. She folded her arms, raising an eyebrow at him expectantly.

Discord fidgeted, rubbing the back of his neck. “...how much bearing on your answer does my answer have?”.

“Not much” she answered honestly, Discord rolling his eyes at her.

The two stared each other down before Discord scoffed in exasperation, flailing slightly. “Alright, alright, I apologised! Ok? Not that I should have had to, but I did it!”. He pouted, looking away as Fluttershy smiled, unfolding her arms and reaching out to put her hand on his elbow gently.

Discord stilled and looked at her hand then back at her as Fluttershy’s smile widened slightly. “Thank you...I appreciate everything you’re doing for us", she said softly, Discord’s eyes lingering on her hand before looking up at her face instead.

“You’re...you’re welcome" he said softly, Fluttershy making a noise in her throat before moving back to the bay window and sitting down. He straightened up, giving his head a quick shake to dispel the strange feelings inside. “Is that a yes then?”.

Fluttershy paused then nodded, moving to put her heels back on, Discord scoffing and flapping his hand at her. “No need for those my dear, I want you as comfortable as possible" he commented as he moved to grab his camera tripod. He began to set it up by the bay window, stifling a smile when he noticed Fluttershy breathing a sigh of relief as she put the shoes by the wall on the floor out of the way. “If there was anything else you could change about the way you’re dressed up right now, what would it be?” he questioned as he set up the camera and tri-pod, glancing at Fluttershy when she instinctively put her hand to her hair, quickly clasping her hands in front of her as if they had been slapped away. He made sure it was working then walked up to her, Fluttershy turning to him. “The hair?”.

Fluttershy eyes slid away, hunching her shoulders slightly as if trying to shrink into herself. “Its just....its been a long day and its...very tight".

Discord hummed, taking hold of her head gently and lowering it, examining the way her hair was pinned up. He made a noise then tugged a pin out from the bundle, her pink hair holding in place for a moment before gravity tugged and it toppled down, unravelling into a long rope down her back. Fluttershy lifted her head back up as Discord reached over her shoulders, spreading her hair out gently. “Not much more we can do with it - the top of your head is pretty stiff what with all that product in your hair - but at least now we can get more interesting shots".

Fluttershy inhaled sharply then sighed as he massaged her scalp with the tips of his fingers gently, her eyes fluttering closed as relief flooded through her, the ache in her scalp and temples subsiding. She leaned into the contact, making a humming noise of contentment in her throat as she bit her lower lip. “Mmm thank you" she sighed, opening her eyes to see Discord staring down at her, his eyes wide and a slight redness to his cheeks.

He quickly let go and turned his back to her, lifting a hand to his mouth as he cleared his throat. “Mind going to the window for me? You keep looking outside, thought it might make for a nice photo".

“Oh...ok" Fluttershy replied, wandering over to the window and smiling as she looked outside, seeing more birds fly by into the nearby trees. “Its such a beautiful day today”.

Discord quietly walked to the door, finding the light switch and slowly dimming the lights, watching as the artificial light gradually faded from the room, leaving the room slightly darker and shadowed, the only light was the natural sun light coming in through the two windows of the room. Fluttershy hadn’t noticed, too focused on what was beyond the window, Discord pulling off his coat and turning it inside out to reveal a black inlay as he watched her lean closer to the window, putting a hand against the pane, almost as if she was trying to touch the outside.

Removing his headband, he pulled his coat back on and walked up behind her, glancing at the camera that every now and then made a quiet clicking sound. Discord positioned himself as best he could then gently slid an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him, Fluttershy blinking and making a little sound of surprise in her throat.

She looked down at his arm around her waist, pinning her to him. “What're you-"

She was cut off when his finger pressed lightly against her lips then moved to press under her chin, firm and insistent but gentle, making her tilt her head backwards to look up at him.

Their eyes met.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, a blush staining the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks, visible even underneath the layers of foundation and concealer that had been slathered on. Her lips parted slightly and Discord's lidded eyes dropped to look down at them. An urge to bite her bottom lip came across him and he grinned crookedly at her. “The view in here isn’t so bad either".

Fluttershy tensed in his arms, going stiff as a board despite her pupils dilating. He realised she was both terrified and wanting at the same time and the urge to tease was replaced by a strange need to comfort and to reassure her. He wanted to kiss her; softly, full of feeling, the kind of kiss that would send her dizzy yet convey everything he wished to say and do to her. He barely knew this girl but she was making him feel and think things he had never entertained before in his entire life.

He was fascinated.

“What was your name again?” he murmured, watching the movement of Fluttershy’s throat as she swallowed loudly, as if hypnotized.

“Fluh-Fluttershy" she whispered, eyes flickering rapidly over the features of his face, Discord gently tracing her jawline with his finger.

“Fluttershy....where _have_ you been hiding?”.

A loud bell-like ring chimed through the room, making them both flinch, Fluttershy practically jumping into his arms. They looked over at the camera as the bell chimed again and Discord tutted, letting go of Fluttershy and moving over to it. “Timers ended. I hope that didn’t take up all the memory” he sighed, picking up the camera and examining it.

Fluttershy turned her back to him and put a hand to her chest, her heart racing. The spell that had descended on them had been abruptly broken and her skin felt tingly, rubbing a hand along her arm to try and brush away the goosebumps that had appeared. “Do you...is this...” she swallowed, her throat feeling thick. “-how you usually do things?”.

Discord shrugged, pulling a small card from the camera and moving to his bag, squatting as he searched through the pockets. “I’ve been known to be a lil...unorthodox, I suppose”. He found what he was looking for and put the small card into a pocket, putting another into its place in the camera then standing. “Think of it like this; I’m the artist and you’re my bowl of fruit...if I’m going to get the best out of you, then I need to jazz you up a bit, yeah?”.

Disappointment swirled in Fluttershy, her eyes welling up, surprising herself. She felt ridiculous for being swept up in the moment: he was very clearly good at what he did, at getting people to do what he wanted and Fluttershy had let him manipulate her so easily. He met beautiful, important people practically every day: a plain, anxiety riddled girl like Fluttershy would never compare. Discord had probably found her reticence tiring and had decided to take matters into his own hands to end the session as quickly as possible. Fluttershy imagined she would probably do the same, had she had even a slither of courage inside her.

Feeling a fool, Fluttershy sniffed and tried to hide her wet eyes, moving to grab her shoes from where she’d left them. “I ah...thank you...for finishing the shoot. I’m sure Rarity will be thrilled with your work". She grabbed them and held them tightly to her chest, as if they could shield her. “I’m sure your busy so I’ll just...get out of your hair-".

“Hmm? What?”. Discord turned to her, quickly moving to block her path as she made for the door. “Whoa whoa, am not done yet! I just needed a new memory card!”. He grinned down at her, holding up his camera and gesturing with it. “Had to switch it out...I always keep spares".

Fluttershy blinked at the camera. “...I..I thought".

It was then Discord noticed the tears in her eyes and her slightly distressed look, becoming concerned. “Hey, you ok? Was that...did I go too far? Its just...I thought some couple-like poses would be good but there aren’t any male personnel around other than that dreadful Toity person outside and I didn’t think you’d mind me...”. He stopped, at a loss. “I’m...I’m sorry".

“No no it’s...its alright I just...” Fluttershy let out a shaky sigh, dabbing at the corner of her eyes lightly before giving him a sad smile. “I’m sorry it’s just...its been a long day and I...I just wasn’t expecting...that" she huffed a laugh. “I’m really not great at these things...” she drooped, sighing heavily then blinked, pointing at his black coat. “Ah...weren’t you wearing a different coat earlier?”.

Discord looked down at himself. “Ah! Um, still same coat, just-" He took off his jacket and turned it inside out, revealing his brown and yellow-sleeved jacket from earlier. “A lil trick I learned...two coats in one!”. He pulled it back on and gave a little twirl. “I use the black for shoots or “formal attire" and this is...well it’s for me”.

Fluttershy blinked then began to chuckle, putting a hand to her mouth to try and hide her delight, Discord’s smile growing into a grin at seeing it. “How clever!”.

“Really? You don’t...think it’s odd?”. Discord fiddled with his camera, feigning indifference as Fluttershy shook her head. “Not at all...its actually very...unique!” she said, a small, shy but genuine smile on her face. “Your style might be odd to some people but its just...different. And it obviously helps with your work too".

Discord turned away so that she couldn’t see the redness of his cheeks, grabbing his headband from where he’d discarded it and pulling it back on. “Do you...do you mind if we just take...a couple more shots? I promise I wont keep you much longer...you’ve already given up so much of your day”.

“I...I suppose so" Fluttershy said, glancing away and shrinking into herself. “Is it...will it be...like the other one?”.

“Yes" Discord replied honestly, then held out a hand when she hunched over more so. “If you feel uncomfortable at any point we’ll stop, I promise".

Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a breath and muttered “bowl of fruit" quietly to herself. Inhaling sharply, she straightened and looked at Discord. “I’m fine...what do you want to do?”.

Discord pointed to the bed that Fluttershy had been studiously ignoring during the whole shoot and walked to stand beside it. “Over here please?”.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she took a step back, Discord waving his hands at her quickly. “Wait wait! I just...look, all I want is for you to lay down on the bed, as if you’ve just come back from a dance or a night out and you’ve like...flopped onto the bed in exhaustion. Like this, see?”. He turned his back to the bed then made a tired groaning sound and flopped backwards onto the bed, bouncing slightly when he landed then laying splayed out on top of the covers. His head lifted to look at her with a small grin. “Get it?”.

Fluttershy laughed nervously and moved to stand next to the bed as Discord sat up. “I get it. That’s...not so difficult". She smiled sheepishly. “I am kind of tired".

Moving off the bed, Discord made some space for her, Fluttershy turning to stand with her back to the edge of it. With a nervous giggle, Fluttershy closed her eyes and let herself fall back onto the bed, landing with a small oof! as she bounced slightly from the impact, her shoes clattering in her hand. She sighed happily as the softness of the bed and covers cushioned her tired body, feeling herself starting to relax. “So what do I-“

Her words caught in her mouth as she opened her eyes to see Discord leaning over her, his face a mask of seriousness, his eyes lidded and unnervingly focused on her. He stared down at her for a moment then, he gently took her arm holding the shoes and moved it slight above her head. Then, he took her other hand, moving so that it lay flat on her stomach, his own hand covering it for a moment longer then needed before letting go. He examined her then leaned forward and began to move her hair, combing it with his fingers in places it was caught underneath her body, making it out more.

His chest was so close, Fluttershy could smell him, her face becoming hot as she realised they were in a frightfully intimate position. A tingle of excitement ran through her and she was slightly horrified to find she was becoming turned on, turning her face away from him and closing her eyes to try and hide how mortified she felt.

“There. That looks good" he murmured and his low voice made her toes curl, letting out a shaky breath as he leaned back and away from her. “You ok?”.

Fluttershy nodded opening her eyes slightly to look at him. “Is...is this it?”.

Discord seemed to examine her for a moment then nodded. “Comfortable?”.

“Physically or emotionally?” Fluttershy blurted out, closing her eyes at her own idiocy then blinking them open in surprise when Discord began to laugh.

“That’s fair” He giggled, raising his camera. “Ready?”.

Fluttershy nodded then went still as Discord raised his camera and began to take pictures, moving back and forth and around the bed. Fluttershy kept her eyes on the hand holding her shoes, biting her lip softly as she listened to the shutter clicking. There was a pause and she lidded her eyes, glancing over at Discord, who was frowning down at his camera. “Nngh these angles...I need to...wait".

And then he was above her, climbing up onto the bed and standing over Fluttershy, a foot on either side of her body as he crouched slightly and raised his camera, once again taking photos.

Fluttershy couldn’t help it. A giggle spluttered out of her, trying to quickly cover her mouth with her hand but it was too late. A combination of nerves and tiredness and just the whole events of the day and her jumbled up feelings caught up with her and she began to laugh, quiet but musical and genuine. She turned partially on her side as Discord paused, watching the scene below him with fascination. He huffed a laugh. “What? What’s so funny?”.

Her giggles dying down, she looked up at him, her eyes full of mirth. “I’ve just...never had a photographer do the things you do". She giggled, rolling over onto her back to look up at him properly. “You’re so different from me...from anyone I’ve ever met, really".

Discord's grip on his camera tightened, staring down at her as she smiled shyly up at him. He crouched suddenly, his gaze intense. “If I kissed you right now, what would you do?” he asked, his voice quiet but even and the look of joy on Fluttershy’s face was wiped away as quickly as if he'd slapped her.

She was saved from answering by a knock on the door, both looking over as Rarity’s brisk but cautious voice came from behind the door. “Hello? Is everything ok in there? It’s been almost an hour".

A shot of panic laced through her being and with a suddenness that surprised even herself, Fluttershy sat up and pushed Discord off her, Discord yelping as he was thrown back and off the bed onto the floor, landing with a thud as Fluttershy scurried off the bed, holding her shoes to her chest as if they were the only thing keeping her heart inside her chest. “YES! YES WE’RE FINISHED! EVERYTHINGS FINE! WE’RE DONE!” she called out, gathering up the bottom of her dress so that it didn’t impede her as she hurried to the door, Discord groaning as he used the side of the bed to help himself sit up. “Wait! What-”.

Fluttershy hesitated then quickly bowed, hiding her face behind her long hair. “Thank you! For doing this shoot today! It was lovely to meet you! Takecarenowgoodbye!” she stammered out quickly, wrenching open the door and racing past Rarity, who blinked in shock as Fluttershy disappeared quicker than a wink down the hall and out of sight.

Rarity looked back and forth between the direction Fluttershy had disappeared and the room she had been in, poking her head into the room to find Discord staring blankly up at her. “What on Earth just happened?!”.

Discord blinked up at her, seemingly dazed as he murmured in reply. “I...don’t know".

* * *

Fluttershy sighed as she sipped at her Boba tea, hunching her shoulders as she walked through the streets, finally heading home after her arduous day of modelling.

She'd stopped off at the shopping mall for a cup of her favourite Boba tea and then the small grocery shop located just a few streets away from her apartment building to pick up some small things to eat for her dinner, giving her self some time to reflect on the days events.

After she had run from the room, Rarity had found Fluttershy curled up in a ball in the original room she had used for changing, mortified at what had transpired. After reassuring Rarity that nothing untoward had happened with Discord, Rarity had left her to change back into her normal clothes, promising Fluttershy that she would take care of everything and that Fluttershy would be free to leave as soon as she was able. She had offered to give Fluttershy a lift home but Fluttershy had declined: as grateful as she was for the offer, she needed the space.

Rarity, forever understanding, had hugged her and left, Fluttershy quickly changing into her regular clothes and removing the makeup as best she could with what she had. She would have to have a proper cleanse when she got home.

Making sure Rarity’s outfit was hung up properly, Fluttershy texted her to let her know she had left then quickly exited the building, the difference in her appearance so stark that Hoity Toity brushed past her with barely a glance.

She hadn’t seen Discord as she had left but had heard his voice nearby and just hearing it had struck straight into her fight or flight reflex, making her move quickly out and away from the building until it was no longer in sight.

Fluttershy sighed heavily once more, switching her bag from one hand to the other as the weight of it started to hurt. She was intrigued and terrified of him all at the same time; he was calm yet boisterous, his ideas were insensible but his focus unwavering. She felt like she had been strung along in some crazy dance with him, her emotions and feelings like a rollercoaster, almost giving herself whiplash in an effort to keep up with it. The rapid change and force of her own feelings had scared her more than anything else.

Digging into her pocket, Fluttershy pulled out her building keys and opened the front doors, letting them fall shut behind her as she made her way to her letterbox, checking for any mail, trying not to feel disappointed at finding nothing inside.

Moving to the escalators, she pushed the button for her floor and waited, suddenly feeling lonely.

It was so strange to go from feeling completely overwhelmed and needing space to feeling adrift and alone. She wished she had taken Rarity’s offer after all.

She pulled her hood over her head, hiding her face despite no one else being around, keeping her face turned toward the ground. As the lift doors opened, she heard the sound of the door leading to the underground floor parking lot open, hurried footsteps scurrying over as she walked inside and pressed the button for the top floor, keeping her back to the person who joined her in the lift. The person pressed their button then sighed and moved to the back of the elevator, leaning against the bag of it as they thunked their baggage on the floor heavily. Fluttershy hunched over into herself more, as if making herself smaller would make her invisible and wished she hadn’t forgotten her headphones. Some music would so soothing for her fraught nerves right now.

The elevator seemed to take forever, her companion humming to themselves as they rode it up, Fluttershy gripping her bag tightly, taking another sip of her tea and struggling not to cough when one of the Boba bubbles hit the back of throat and made her choke.

Finally reaching her floor, Fluttershy hurried out as soon as the doors opened wide enough for her to fit through, fiddling with her keys to find the right one for her door.

To her surprise, the other occupant left the elevator, moving towards the apartment across from hers and she realised that she had unknowingly just met her neighbour for the first time.

Fluttershy hadn’t always lived in the apartment building. She had first bought her dream cottage on the edge of town several years ago, a dilapidated old thing that had sat there for years, unloved and unused. Fluttershy had fallen in love with it and had saved up what she could to buy it, however a horrific storm had torn through it, devastating it and her dreams. It needed dire repairs and Fluttershy had had to move temporarily into the apartment building until the repairs were completed. Her and her neighbour were the only two residents on the top floor of the building and strangely, Fluttershy had never met them.

Oh she had heard them alright, but oddly, they had never crossed paths and Fluttershy would never have dared to go knock on their door and introduce herself. It seems her neighbour felt the same; either that or they just didn’t care enough.

An urge to turn and find out what they looked like came over her and she pulled down her hood, biting her lip as she worked up the nerve, fidgeting with her keys. “Just do it, do it, one look wont hurt" Fluttershy thought to herself but just as she was about to turn, she heard their door open and sighed in annoyance with herself.

Too late. Another missed opportunity.

Selecting the right key, she slotted it into the keyhole and was about to turn it when a hand came out of nowhere over her shoulder and slapped loudly against the door, making her jump and yell in fright, turning to look at her would-be frightener.

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as Discord loomed over her, his red-eyes lidded and shining with delight, his grin wide with satisfaction.

“Well hello there....neighbour”.


	2. 2

Fluttershy stared up at the satisfied grin of Discord as he loomed over her, feeling very much like a mouse being cornered by a hungry cat. Her back was pressed up against the door, her keys clutched tight in her hand and her breath seemed to be caught in her throat.

He leaned over slightly, lowering himself so that they were almost face to face, his lidded eyes flickering up and down her body and his arm cornering her in. “Didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon, not after how quickly you left that photoshoot" he said, his voice low and teasing.

Smirking, Discord reached out and gently plucked her drink from her hand, Fluttershy tensing up slightly as he did so. He wiggled the drink at her as he spoke. “Who would have thought we would be neighbours? How...serendipitous”. He took a sip then blinked in surprise as the drink filled his mouth, straightening up and looking at it as he swirled it around in his mouth before swallowing. “Wow...this is nice. What is it?”.

“Its...its orange, mango, passion fruit and pineapple Boba tea. The...the lil bubbles are peach flavoured" she answered quietly, watching as Discord took another sip, catching one of the bubbles in the straw and sucking it up, holding the drink in his mouth as he bit down on the bubble to release the flavour and let it mix in with the tea before swallowing it whole, Fluttershy smiling tremulously as he hummed in appreciation. “Like it?”.

Discord turned back to look at her, his eyes once again lidded and his smile sly. “I do...very much so" he said, Fluttershy's cheeks heating up as she quickly dropped her eyes to the floor. Discord stared at her, watching her eyes flick to and fro, looking at everything but him. He took another sip of her drink – it was very refreshing – then held it out back to her. Fluttershy blinked then shook her head slightly. “You keep it". He blinked in surprise then shrugged and took another sip.

“So" he said, Fluttershy stiffening at the sound of his lowered voice. “You and Rarity...are you a thing, or what?”.

Fluttershy looked at him, blinking at him dumbfounded. “Excuse me?”.

“You and Rarity...are you fucking?” he asked nonchalantly, Fluttershys eyes widening to such a degree he thought they might pop out. Her face blanched and then went a stunning shade of red, which spread down to her neck and even up to her ears. Her mouth dropped open and he got a lovely look at her teeth and throat as a strange gargling noise came out of it, dropping her keys and her shopping bag on the floor with a thud. “NO!!?” Fluttershy squeaked loudly, her voice high with indignation and embarrassment, lifting her hands to partially cover her mouth with her fingers in horror. “She’s...she’s my friend!! One of my best friends!! We’re not-" she stopped herself and quickly looked at the floor, her hair dropping forward like a curtain to hide her face. Bless her heart, she couldn’t even say the word. How cute.

“Really? She was all over you at that shoot, she could barely keep her hands to herself. Are you really not banging her?” he quizzed, raising a bushy eyebrow as she shook her head hard, hair flying wildly around her.

“She’s just...my friends they...they know I’m not good with...social stuff" she stammered, taking a lock of her hair into her hands and stroking it over and over, trying to soothe away the stress he had caused, he supposed. “Rarity is...she’s just very protective of me. They all are but Rarity more so...I think its maybe because she asks me to model for her? I don’t...”. She bit her lip. “We’re not dating. She’s already...in a relationship”.

“Ah, so she might not be open to me trying to fuck her then?” he sighed, Fluttershy going still and staring up at him. “Wuh-what!?”.

“Well, I know we didn’t exactly get off to a brilliant start...or end...or middle even. But I do like a bit of...fire, every now and then. I liked her spirit". He grinned, thinking about the way she had squared up to him, so quick to jump on the defensive. “I thought she might be open to a bit of fun but if she’s already taken...” Discord shrugged, trailing off.

“She is" Fluttershy confirmed, her voice strained. “Happily" she quickly added when she saw the question on his face. He sighed and she folded her arms, a deep frown creasing her brow. “Do you speak to everyone you’ve just met this way? I don’t appreciate you speaking about my friend in such a manner. And I’m definitely sure Rarity wouldn’t like it either if she heard you...it’s disrespectful”.

Discord shrugged and looked away, his expression indifferent. “Never had any fun being respectful” he replied, taking a long slurp of the drink. “And I like having fun”. A strange look came over him and he lidded his eyes, glancing down sideways at Fluttershy. “And what about you?” he asked, his voice low and silky.

Fluttershy blinked, taken aback. “Me?”.

“Yes, you". Discord leaned in again, his expression positively devious. “You never did answer my question...what WOULD you do if I kissed you hmm?”.

Fluttershys eyes widened, pressing herself back against the door as Discord leaned in even closer, his tall frame seemingly all encompassing the space they were in. Her cheeks went red as he grinned at her, so close that she noticed that one of his teeth was slightly larger than the others and pointed, almost like a fang. “Lets find out, shall we?”.

He moved to kiss her and Fluttershys breath stopped in her chest. She instinctively raised her hands and covered Discords mouth with them, stopping him in his tracks. Discord stopped, blinking at her in surprise, the tip of his nose poking her own. His lips were soft against her fingers, Fluttershys cheeks warming as she looked away. “I cant" she murmured softly. “I have a boyfriend?”.

Discord blinked at her than lidded his eyes, raising one bushy eyebrow at her as if to say “are you sure?”.

Fluttershy realised that she’d make it sound more like a question and panicked, trying to explain. “I-I mean I...well, I mean I think he is, we-we haven’t, I mean...we've had two dates together and they...we...its not really official...yet" she trailed off awkwardly at the end, chewing the inside of her lower lip as she looked back up at Discord.

Discord straightened back up, Fluttershy lowering her hands slowly as he looked at her sceptically. “You’re not exactly selling it my dear, how official is this unofficial boyfriend of yours? Has he expressed any intent of intimacy? Has he shown you any affection at all on these “dates” of yours?” he asked, making air-quotes before smirking at her, his voice teasing. “Have you even held hands yet?”.

Fluttershy stroked her lock of hair, mouth turned down at the corners as she thought back about her last two dates. “We...we’ve had coffee and...talked. Oh! We hugged the last time we said goodbye!” she argued, drooping when Discord snorted at her in amusement.

“Gasp! How serious! Shall I officiate the forthcoming wedding? I can do that you know" he grinned, Fluttershy battling against the tears welling up in her eyes, lowering her head so that he couldn’t see her rising emotions.

“You’re awful” she mumbled, Discords chuckle tapering off, the hallway filling with silence. “Did you ever think that maybe he’s being a gentleman and giving me space? That he saw how much I struggled and was being polite by not forcing himself on me like so many people do, even in normal, social situations, not just sexual?”. She looked up at him, the tears falling freely now but she didn’t care. The whole day had been just a series of emotional events piled up one after the other and all she wanted to do was go home and unwind and find something akin to peace. She clenched her fists. “You may think things are just fine being disrespectful but just because people don’t call you out on it, doesn’t mean that it’s alright. You don’t know him. And you don’t know me".

Fluttershy scrubbed at her eyes, dropping down to pick her keys up off the floor, ignoring the shaking of her hands as she selected the right one before turning her back to him. “I thought you were different. I thought...I thought we...could be friends” she said quietly, her shoulders drooping sadly. There was a pause behind her, Fluttershy sighing as she turned the key and unlocked the door.

“Friends?”

Fluttershy blinked, turning to look at Discord with a sniffle. He was looking down at her with a pained expression on his face, confusion mixed with something almost like hurt? As if he’d never heard the word before and didn’t understand what it meant. “Yes, friends. You...have friends, don’t you?” she asked, turning to him fully as Discord seemed to flounder for a moment, unsure of how to answer. “Well I ah...I’ve...never really...had a friend before" he confessed, staring down at his drink as if he was reading the secret to life on it. “No one’s ever really...offered".

Fluttershy wiped at her eyes with the heel of her palm and couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Even after all the things he’d said and done: bombarding her with inappropriate questions, getting into her personal space and everything in between, the fact that she had completely derailed him with her offer of friendship struck a chord deep inside her. He looked so lost.

She reached out and took his hand, holding it and giving it a light squeeze as he looked at their joined hands in disbelief. She sniffled again and stroked the back of his hand with her thumb softly. “I think we still can be...maybe" she said quietly, watching as Discords fingers twitched in her grasp ever so slightly.

Her body decided that it would no longer be ignored and the urge to pee, followed by an ache in her stomach reminding that she had barely eaten all day came upon her and she grimaced, looking up at him. “I should go...I haven’t eaten yet and its...been a long day" she smiled apologetically at him, Discord glancing at her then back down at their hands.

He straightened up and it was like watching a switch being flipped inside him, as if their previous interactions had never even happened. Turning their hands over, Discord bowed, holding her hand up delicately. “Of course. It was lovely meeting you, enjoy your evening". He kissed the back of her hand then, as if he couldn’t help himself, nipped one of her knuckles playfully before letting go, turning and briskly walking back to his own apartment. He swooped down and grabbed his bag as he walked through his open door, swiftly kicking it shut behind him. He didn’t hesitate or glance back even once and Fluttershy was left dumbfounded, staring at his closed door before she shook her head, picking up her own bag of shopping and entering her own home quietly.

Once inside, she released a deep breath, instantly feeling more at ease. Setting her bag on the counter top, Fluttershy dashed for the bathroom and relieved herself, setting the bath to run as she came back into the kitchen and put away the shopping. She prepared herself some food before stripping and getting into the bath, moaning as her body was enveloped by the hot water, soothing the day’s aches and pains away. Fluttershy washed the product from her hair then got out, drying off and slipping into her nightgown and robe before curling up on her couch to enjoy her dinner. Afterwards, she made herself some tea and put on some quiet music, sorting out her schedule for the next few days before exhaustion creeped over her and forced her to call it quits.

Sitting back in her sofa, Fluttershy swirled the liquid in her cup as she tried to push the events of the day out if her head. Discord, however, seemed determined to stay in her thoughts, Fluttershy flinching and glancing at the wall that separated their apartments as he began to clatter and bang around his home, despite having been quiet for the past several hours. Fluttershy stared at the wall as if he might appear through it, wondering what he was doing, if he was just as confused about his own feelings as she was about hers. If he was even thinking about her at all.

Feeling ridiculous, Fluttershy decided an early night wouldn’t be a bad thing and drank the rest of her tea, washing and tidying away her things before making sure her doors and windows were locked up tight, casting a quick glance at the wall again before turning out the lights and crawling into bed.

* * *

Fluttershy sighed contently as she wrapped a towel around her body, stepping out of her shower and heading into the kitchen just as the kettle began to whistle on the stove. Carefully manoeuvring it off the burner, she poured the boiling water into the waiting teapot, spooning in some loose leaves and giving it a quick stir before replacing the lid to let it steep. After a slightly restless night’s sleep, a warm shower and a cup of tea were just the things she needed to lift her spirits and get the day going right.

She began to head back to her bedroom to change when a knock at the door made her stop, a confused look on her face. It wasn’t unheard of for her friends to show up at her home -they did each have a spare key to the apartment building after all- but they tended to text or call first before letting her know they were on their way. However two of her friends, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, did tend to show up unannounced at times: Pinkie tended to be forgetful and Rainbow Dash was...well, Rainbow Dash.

She turned and went to the door as the knock came again, calling out quietly. “Coming!”. She opened the door expecting to see one of her friends...and froze when the form of Discord filled her doorway.

He was leaning against her door frame, looking off towards his own apartment but turned to look at her as the door opened, his lidded eyes going as wide as saucers and his mouth dropping open in surprise. They blinked at each other for a moment in stunned silence before Discord recovered first, his surprised expression changing to a devilish smirk and hungry eyes, looming over her as he put a hand on his hip. “Well now, good thing I haven’t had breakfast yet, because you look absolutely delicious" he purred as he leaned in.

Fluttershy screamed and slammed the door in his face, almost cutting his nose clean off, Discord bursting into laughter as she leaned up against the other side of the door completely mortified, her face hot and red. Discord knocked as he laughed. “Ah it’s ok Shutterfly, don’t be embarrassed! I’ve been caught with my trousers down before" he giggled, rapping the door with his knuckles. “C'mon open up".

He pressed his ear up against the door, listening intently. He heard a tiny whimper and a slither of guilt wriggled through him, knocking more gently than before. “Hey...you ok? I just...ah...I wanted to talk. About yesterday. Can I come in? I promise I wont look?”.

Silence answered him and he straightened, ready to quit and go back home when there was a click and the door partially opened, sparkling green eyes looking out at him. “You...you promise?”.

Discord smiled and bent down, pulling a white monogrammed handkerchief from his jacket and waving it at her. “Scouts honour. Truce?”.

Fluttershy hesitated then bit her lip, her nails rapping on the door in thought. “Cover your eyes first, then you can come in”. Discord raised an eyebrow at her, his grin widening with amusement. Shrugging, he folded the handkerchief into a strip then tied it around his head, covering his eyes like a blindfold. “Better? Although I have to admit, it’s kinda rare for me to do this outside of the bedroom...I’m not complaining though! A change of scenery is good for the soul, ya know?” he joked, holding his arms out and taking a tentative step forward. “Marco?”.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and opened the door fully, hesitantly sliding her hand into his, Discords grin faltering slightly at the feel of her hand in his. She paused and lifted her other hand, waving it in front of his face, Discord flinching as he felt the air move by his face and turning his head this way and that. “What are you doing?”.

“Nothing" she said quickly then, clutching the towel tightly to her front, slowly led him inside, Discord giggling nervously as he took stuttered steps into her room. “Gotta say, this isn’t how I pictured this conversation going. Lot of fun though".

Fluttershy led him into the centre of the living room then went to close the door, realising he had dropped a bag on the floor and bringing it inside before firmly shutting the door. She put his bag by his feet, Discord tilting his head downward went it fell against his ankle. “I’m ahh...I’m going to go get dressed o-ok? Ju-just...stay right here and I’ll...I’ll be right back ok?” she stammered, fidgeting on the spot as she clutched at her towel, her face hot with embarrassment.

“Take your time, I’ll just stay here and admire the scenery” he said, turning from side to side as if he was looking around the room, Fluttershy huffing at him lightly before turning and trotting off to her bedroom. At the sound of her footsteps, Discord lifted the blindfold up from one eye, just in time to watch her towel-clad backside disappear into her bedroom. He whined and bit on his knuckle, making a little fainting motion. By the moon, this girl was driving him up the wall! He wanted to tease and taunt and poke fun at her but at the same time, he wanted to comfort and charm her, make her laugh and hold her.

He also wanted to fuck the living daylights out of her.

He took the time to survey the room, keeping an ear out for her return. Like most rental apartments, Fluttershy hadn’t been able to change much about her living space, but she had decorated where she could. The kitchen and living room were connected as all the apartments were; the kitchen cupboards white and plain and positively boring. The living space however, was a vast mix of different shades of greens and pinks, a clear cottage-esque theme going on. Pictures littered the walls, bookshelves of every size lined up around the room, however these were mostly filled with plants, few books littered here and there. She had a long green chaise lounge and a small, cushier one seater, that was also green but had a yellow love heart at the headrest, a small empty wooden coffee table sat between them. He looked behind him and found a flat screen TV hung on the wall, his eyes trailing down to find that he was stood on a mint green, faux sheepskin rug, smirking at the ideas that it conjured up. He bent and took off his shoes, then quickly straightened when he heard light footsteps approaching, letting his blindfold drop back down and putting his hands behind his back as he hummed quietly, the picture of innocence.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, I couldn’t find my-" Fluttershy stopped as she re-entered the living room, blinking at Discord as he stood waiting. “You...you’re still wearing the...blindfold?”.

“Well you requested that I cover my eyes did you not?” He asked, raising a bushy eyebrow. “It would have been...disrespectful, to do otherwise, isn't that right?”.

He heard Fluttershy mutter under her breath and couldn’t help but grin cheekily in her direction. There was a pause and he vaguely wondered what was going to happen when all of a sudden she was in front of him, her body almost pressed against his as she reached up behind his head and untied the handkerchief, pulling it off. Discord blinked a few times to clear his vision then looked down, startled at how close she was.

They stared at each other, Discord surprised at how tiny she was. She had been wearing heels the last few times they had met and even though she'd still been shorter then him, she'd still come up to his chin. Now, the top of her head just reached the middle of his chest; she'd clearly had to step up onto her tiptoe to even remotely get near his head to untie the handkerchief. Fluttershy bit her lip, blinking up at him with a shy, anxious expression. She’d partially pulled the hair back from her face, tying up a portion of it with a flower barrette but leaving the back of her hair flowing freely past her shoulders, although one piece of untameable hair had escaped, framing her face. It looked softer, fluffier, now that she washed out the gunk from yesterday’s shoot. She wore a blue button up with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and a multi-tiered white skirt that came mid thigh. She was barefoot with a small strip of colourful thread wrapped around one ankle. “Wo-would you like some tea?” she asked softly, her foot scuffing the fur of the rug beneath their feet. “It...it might not be hot but it should still be warm enough to enjoy?”.

“I’d love some" he answered, a small pleased smile lighting up Fluttershy's face as she handed him his handkerchief back then went to the kitchenette, gesturing to the couch as she walked. “Please, make yourself at home".

“Oh you wouldn’t want me to do that, not unless you like mess, which-" Discord grabbed his bag and took a seat on the lounge chair, looking pointedly around the room as he stuffed his handkerchief back into his jacket pocket. “-quite evidently, you don’t".

“Oh I don’t mind mess at all" Fluttershy refuted, gathering her tea set onto a tray and carefully bringing them over to the table. “I just think that if you’re going to make the mess, the you have to be prepared to clean up after yourself too". She placed a pink and purple cup and saucer on the coffee table in front of him then half-filled his cup with tea. “Please, help yourself to milk and sugar" she said, pouring her own cup then sitting primly on the edge of the one-seater, her legs crossed at the ankle.

Discord grabbed three sugar cubes and dropped them into his tea all at once, picking up one of the small silver teaspoons that were laid on the tray and giving it a quick stir. “Yes well I haven’t actually gotten around to the ‘tidy up' portion of things yet" he muttered, picking up his cup and saucer and taking a sip, holding the teacup with his pinkie finger stuck out. Fluttershy smiled widely to see it then quickly drank from her own cup to hide her amusement. “So you ah, said you wanted to talk? About yesterday?” she asked, her voice quiet as she spoke, remembering the day before.

Discord held up a finger as he set down his saucer with a clatter, his cheeks bulging with un-swallowed tea. He gulped it loudly as he moved to grab his bag, opening it and rifling through it. “Yes! I did! In fact, a moment please if you will...”. He stuck out his tongue as he searched then grinned happily. “AH HA! Here we go!”.

Getting down on one knee, Discord pulled out a flower from his bag and held it out to her. “I was...made aware, that the way I spoke to you was out of line and I should have been more thoughtful when I clearly made you uncomfortable. Would you please accept this, and my apologies, for my behaviour yesterday?”.

Fluttershy blinked then took the flower gently, inspecting it carefully. It was an origami flower: strips of coloured paper that had been twisted and folded until they made the shape of a flower. Thick green twisted paper made the stem, two different shades of pink connected and flared out for the petals. A yellow spiral had been twisted and attached to the centre to make the pistil, like a snake coiled up fast asleep.

“You...made this? For me?” Fluttershy asked softly looking up at Discord who had sat back on the lounge, his expression mixing between sheepish and proud. “I would’ve actually gone and bought one but I was so busy last night I hadn’t realised the time had gone and honestly, I cant believe there are no good places to buy flowers at three am, so I had to make it myself. I hope you don’t mind".

“Not at all! Its wonderful!” she smiled widely at him. “I accept your apology. Its a lovely gesture, thank you! I cant believe you made this yourself!”.

“Oh, my dear, I have MANY talents, I’m not just all rugged good looks you know" Discord said pompously, leaning back in the chair and crossing his legs. “I’m an artist after all! You didn’t think I was just a plain old photographer did you?”.

Fluttershy chuckled. “Oh not at all, there’s nothing plain about you" she said as she stood, walking into the kitchen and searching the cupboards momentarily before she found what she wanted, taking out a long slim glass and placing it on the counter, popping the flower inside before bringing it back over, placing it in the centre of the coffee table as she sat back down. Discord sat up and grabbed his teacup, discreetly nudging the glass off centre as he did so, pouring himself some more tea and adding another sugar cube. “How kind of you to say so! Yes yes, I try not to limit myself to just the one profession...how dreadfully dull! My creativity would suffer terribly if I limited myself as others do". He slurped at his tea, full of self importance. “Photography is just one of my outlets; I also paint, sculpt, draw, build etcetera etcetera. Anything that let’s me create essentially. I cant think of anything worse than been stifled, can you?”.

Fluttershy slumped and sipped her own tea morosely. She wouldn’t know, all she’d ever done is stifle herself, her anxiety so high she second guessed everything she did. She could never imagine just doing whatever she pleased whenever she wanted.

“Fluttershy?”.

Fluttershy blinked and looked up to find Discord looking at her curiously. “Oh! I’m so sorry! You were saying?”. She finished her tea then refilled her cup, noting that the teapot was almost empty. “I was just saying that last night while I was working, I thought about what you said, regarding your offer of friendship" Discord said, his tone conversational as he stirred his tea slowly, his eyes lidded.

“Oh! You were?” Fluttershy smiled tremulously. “So, you’d like to become friends?”.

Discord hesitated than looked up at her, a calculating look in his eyes. “Actually, I had an offer for you”.

“An offer? For...me?”.

“Indeed”. He shuffled up on the couch so that he was closer to her, putting his teacup on the coffee table. “I...propose...that instead of just being friends, maybe we could try being friends...with some added benefits?”. He ran a finger around the rim of his cup as he spoke, glancing up at her.

Fluttershy looked at him, her face scrunched up in confusion. “Friends with...benefits? Like what?”.

“Have you never heard of it before?” Discord asked incredulously, Fluttershy bowing her head to hide her face in embarrassment, shaking her head. “Well then, this is exactly why we should do it!”.

“But-but what is it?” she asked softly, looking up at him through her hair.

Discord grinned as he shrugged off his coat. “Friends with benefits, is a relationship in which the two friends are ‘physically intimate' with one another, but are not committed to one another: in short, we’re friends who fuck, from time to time".

Fluttershy's eyes, which had been growing larger as he spoke, were now as wide as saucers. Her face was bright red, he could practically feel the heat from it. Her mouth had dropped open in shock. “B-but...that...isn’t that...wo-wouldn’t that...”. Unable to form a coherent sentence, Fluttershy looked away and sipped her tea.

Discord rested his chin on the heel of his palm, watching the conflicting emotions on her face. It was fun to watch: he could practically see the cogs in her head turning . “Of course, if you would prefer not to, I understand...I did mention that I work with “willing" participants after all" he said, Fluttershy fingering the handle of her cup. “Well what...I mean...nngh I’m confused" she said, putting a hand to her forehead.

“Let me put it simply my dear; you and I would be friends and do the usual friend stuff, have tea and talk and other nonsense, whatever" he rolled his hand in a vague gesture. “But if one of us ever felt the need for...release, in a sense, then we could go to the other and ask the other to...help, with that release". Fluttershy chewed the inside of her bottom lip, staring at him but not actually looking at him. “So if I...we...wanted to...have sex...” she blushed and looked back down at her teacup. “We could just...ask?”. She looked up in concern. “But wouldn’t that be...complicated? And how do we both...benefit?”.

“Ah see now, I think we would both benefit GREATLY" Discord leaned forward, his eyes alight. “I was thinking about it while I worked! See, you’re a very shy and retiring person right? And I’m rather more, well, showy I guess" he put a hand on his chest, smiling proudly. “I can teach you how to be more confident! More outgoing! A little less...stifled”, he said, giving her a pointed look, Fluttershy unable to meet his eyes. So he’d noticed her reaction then. Shoot.

“And what about you? I don’t see how I can help you" she asked softly, pushing back a strand of hair behind her ear, Discord's demeanour becoming slightly less boisterous and more withdrawn. “Well, as it was made painfully clear to me yesterday, I don’t have many...ah...friends. I think learning how to keep the ones I do have would be...beneficial”. He chewed on a nail thoughtfully, staring off into the distance. “At that photo shoot, I noticed that, even though you didn’t make much conversation and kept mostly to yourself, people liked you. They talked about you afterwards. How, even when you were stressed out and upset, you didn’t get mad at anyone or treat anyone poorly". He looked at his own hand, as if it were a foreign object. “How kind you were".

There was a pause, Fluttershy slightly stunned to hear what other people said about her behind her back. She took another sip, her tea almost cold now they had been talking so long. “And the ahh...the ‘sex’ part" she asked nervously, almost immediately regretting the words that came out of her mouth when Discord’s eyes slid over to her, a sly smile on his face.

“Ah yes...the ‘sex’ part" he said, his voice low as he leaned over, stretching out so that he was leaning on the armrest closest to her, his body almost stretched out across the whole lounge. Fluttershy's eyes ran down the length of his body unconsciously, blushing when she reached his hips and quickly looking at her knees. “Well that...that’s for both of us dear”. He grimaced slightly, his nose slightly scrunched up. “I will confess that my ah...proverbial well has dried up recently, which hasn’t helped my creativity at all. I use sex to relieve stress and to help clear my head when I’m overwhelmed...although I do like the occasional quick fun fuck now and again". He winked at her and Fluttershy rolled her eyes.

“I’m not sure how I feel about being asked to be a human ‘stress ball'" she griped, Discord chuckling with amusement. “And me?” she asked, curious as to what conclusion he could’ve possibly made. “Well, and I mean no offence by this my dear, but you don’t really give the impression that your batting suitors off left and right? Your knowledge on the subject is woefully lacking, you can barely even say the word sex!” he said with a laugh, Fluttershy drooping in embarrassment. “Flirting with you is an experience in of itself. Just think; if we do this, you’ll able to learn what you like and dislike in a safe place with someone you trust...isn’t that what everyone wants?”.

Fluttershy fidgeted, rubbing one foot on top of the other, Discord’s eyes dropping to watch the action before speaking again. “Did you know that having sex can make you more confident?” he asked, Fluttershy bursting into a nervous giggle. “That cant be true!” “It is! It doesn’t happen overnight but studies have shown that, having regular sex can make you feel more confident and boost your self-esteem". When she laughed some more he smiled with her, her laugh infectious. “Its true, I promise! Look it up!”.

“I will" she agreed, letting her teacup rest in her lap. “So...you think that if we are friends, that also have sex, we can help each other in places that we are currently...lacking" she struggled to find the right words to describe what he was saying. “What about...if we...what if someone asks us...me...you...out on a date?”.

“Oh that’s not a problem dearie, we can still go on dates and proposition others; then if one of us finds themselves in a more serious position, then sex is no longer on the table and our friendship becomes positively boring...I mean normal" he said grabbing his tea and draining it, setting it back down with a clatter. “I don’t see a problem with that though, I don’t do committed relationships".

“May I ask why?” Fluttershy asked quietly, Discord making a scoffing noise in response. “Oh it’s nothing against them my dear, it’s just -in my experience- they’ve never played out very well...my partners usually end up trying to change me or my work or hamper it all together and so I’ve learned that its best not to get attached, that’s all".

“Oh" Fluttershy answered, unsure of what else to say as she studied her tea. “I’m...I’m not a...virgin...you know" she said hesitantly, playing with the stray strand of hair as she looked up at him. She wasn’t sure why she was telling him that but it seemed important for him to know.

“Virginity is a social construct and not something I care about” Discord said boredly, picking up a sugar cube and rolling it over his knuckles before flicking it up into the air, catching it in his mouth and crunching it loudly in satisfaction. “A broken hymen is not equal to a person's self-worth. I don’t care how much sex you’ve had, or who with...all I’m interested in, is if you’ll have sex with me”. He smirked at her, Fluttershy fiddling with her cup and saucer as she thought about everything he’d said.

In a crazy way, he was making sense to her.

Oh, she knew that on some level he was just playing with her; she was a shiny new toy he’d found and at some point she’d be cast off as quickly as he’d barrelled into her life. But, strangely enough, she was intrigued by his idea. People tended to think that -because she was shy and quiet- the idea of sex and intimacy was alien to her, when in fact it was the opposite. She saw her friends and their relationships and craved that intimacy, that quiet affection, yet it seemed to elude her, making her more reclusive. She’d heard the phrase “touch-starved" before and felt it summed her up perfectly; she ached to be wanted, to be desired, to be touched by someone and in turn to feel someone else’s skin beneath her fingers.

She gripped her cup slightly tighter.

Discord leaned over slowly, watching the conflicting emotions on her face. “Soooo...is that a yes?” he asked, Fluttershy blinking and looking back up at him.

“Oh well I ah...I mean it sounds...interesting" she paused, putting out a hand to halt Discord when he sat up, his face lit up with excitement. “But I...can’t accept. I mean, we can be friends but I...I can’t do the...” she cleared her throat and sat back in her chair. “The other...stuff. I have a boyfriend, remember?”.

Discord’s expression dropped from ecstatic to unimpressed in a split second, slumping back down over the armrest. “Ah yes, the “unofficial, official" boyfriend. Not sure how I could’ve forgotten the utterly forgettable chap...how are they by the way?” he asked, his whole demeanour radiating disinterest as he grabbed another sugar cube and popped it into his mouth.

Fluttershy shifted in her chair. “Well I ah...I don’t know, we...we haven’t spoken yet today. I am meeting them for a coffee date later though" she said, smiling softly, Discord grunting as he picked lint off the couch and flicked it away. “Sounds delightful" he yawned, Fluttershy creasing her brow at his tone. “I don’t know why you’re so set on not liking him...you’ve never even met! He’s perfectly nice...even if he can be a little loud at times" she muttered to herself, Discord perking up and looking at her curiously.

“Loud? In what way?”.

“Well he...when he gets excited he can...shout, a little...but it’s ok! I mean, it’s nice to have someone who is so...enthusiastic” she hurried to reassure him, trying to smile though it came out more like a grimace.

Discord squinted at her. “Enthusiastic...right. What else does he do that you don’t like?”.

“No-nothing! He’s sweet and...and a hard-worker! I mean I...I think so we erm...haven’t really talked about anything like that" she said nervously, Discord leaning forward, watching her intently. “Well, what HAVE you talked about on these little dates of yours? Did you tell him anything about yourself? Did he even ask?!”.

Fluttershy’s hand began to tremble, her chest beginning to hurt. She swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in her throat and closed her eyes. “Please don’t" she whispered.

“I can’t believe you want to date someone you don’t even like! You don’t have to settle for them just because you’re lonely!” he spat and the venom in his voice made Fluttershy snap, opening her eyes and glaring at him. “But it’s ok if I settle for being your walking stress ball is it!? For being your back up when you can’t find anyone better?!”.

Discord stared at her in shock at her outburst, completely speechless. Fluttershy’s hand shook as she raised her cup and drained the last of her tea, putting her cup on the tea tray and picking the whole thing up, taking it back to the kitchenette and placing everything haphazardly into the sink to wash later, anxiety and anger and distress coursing through her. “I think you should go” she said, her voice strained as she walked to the front door and opened it, staring down at her feet.

Discord looked at the open door then at her, his face creased in dismay. It morphed into an irritated expression, Discord openly seething as he grabbed his bag and jacket and stood up, moving to grab his boots and pulling them on, not even bothering to tie them. “At least we would know where we stood with each other! You wouldn’t be floating around in ambiguity, forever anxious, holding yourself back from the things you really want! The things you really feel! At least with me, you'd have a chance to really be yourself!”.

Fluttershy bit her lower lip painfully hard as he pulled on his jacket then grabbed his bag and stomped over to the door, flinging it on his shoulder as he walked. He came to a stop in front of her and stared down at her, his jaw clenched. She looked off to the side, away from him and the anger rapidly drained out of him as quickly as it had come when he saw her tear-filled eyes. He slumped, full of remorse and looked at his apartment door across the hallway. “I’m not really good at this friend thing, am I?” he asked, his voice quiet and full of defeat.

Fluttershy didn’t answer, closing her eyes as he walked out, expecting to hear the slam of his apartment door but looking up in surprise when she heard him begin to clump down the stairwell, the thudding of his boots growing fainter as moved away until she could no longer hear him. Closing the door, Fluttershy leaned up against it, angrily wiping at her eyes as she breathed heavily, trying to compose herself once more. Was this how it was going to be between them? Strange, awkward conversation that descended into tension and ended in hurt feelings? She wanted to be his friend, she really did, but all he seemed to want was to wriggle under her skin as easily as a splinter, and as painfully as one too. Checking the time, Fluttershy realised it was almost time for her date. Taking a deep, calming breath, she pushed Discord from her mind and went to get ready.

* * *

Fluttershy smiled politely as Bulk Biceps - a young, muscular, gym-obsessed man and her current companion - gestured to his biceps and then his chest, her brow creasing slightly as she tried to follow along with what he was saying. She’d never been one for sports or physical activity and so after a while she'd lost track of what he was talking about, her thoughts straying unwillingly to Discord.

After he’d left, Fluttershy had gone and washed her face, putting on a little of makeup and gathering some things into a small white, rabbit shaped handbag before pulling on her shoes and heading out for her date, their meeting place a small cafe a few blocks from where she lived. She had subconsciously been watching for a sign of Discord but had seen no trace of him since he'd left, paranoia and anxiety over seeing him again after their spat making her jumpy and vigilant. She both wanted to see him and dreaded it.

She sighed and closed her eyes, pushing him from her mind and trying to concentrate on being with Bulk. Focus, she told herself. How else will you get to know him if you keep thinking of other things? Be assertive, ask an easy question!

Opening her eyes, Fluttershy took a sip of her tea, dredging up a modicum of courage as she raised her voice slightly to be heard. “Do you like animals?” she asked loudly, wincing and curling into herself when Bulk stopped mid-sentence and looked at her. “I...I’m sorry to interrupt but I...I’m interested to know" she explained nervously, taking another sip to hide her anxiety.

“Oh yeah I love animals!” he said loudly, Fluttershy smiling more genuinely when he turned to her. “Me too! Which is your favourite?”

Bulk hunched over slightly, his demeanour turning shy. “Promise you wont laugh?”. “Oh of course not!” Fluttershy reassured, leaning in to show her sincerity as he took a breath and partially covered his mouth to hide what he was saying. “I...I really love...bunny rabbits” he murmured, his expression sheepish.

Fluttershy smiled widely, pleased at both his answer and at her own courage yielding results. “Really?! Me too! They’re so quiet and very calming!”.

“YEAH! And they’re so fluffy and cute with their little floppy ears!” he said, his voice raising slightly with excitement before laughing, Fluttershy trying not to wince and chuckling along with him. She began to relax, feeling more at ease now that she had steered the conversation to something she was knowledgeable about. She bit her lip, emboldened by her previous action and took a breath, hesitantly reaching out and putting a hand over his.

Bulk’s laughter drifted off and he looked at her hand. “Y'know Fluttershy, most people laugh at me when I tell them stuff like that. They think I’m just some gym-head but I’m not all about working out and lifting stuff...I like other stuff too!”

“Oh Bulk, I would never laugh at you" she said softly, hoping she sounded reassuring. She felt a thrill of elation and trepidation and sat up straighter when he took her hand in both of his. “I just feel like...I can talk to you about anything ya know? I don’t have many people I can really be myself with, ya know?”.

Hearing Discord’s words from someone else jarred her slightly, her expression faltering for a moment before she shook it off, glad that Bulk hadn’t seemed to notice. Fluttershy leaned forward in her chair slightly as his expression turned earnest, her emotions in turmoil. Was this it? Was he going to ask her to be serious with him? Did she even want him to? No! He was nice! Nobody was perfect, and she shouldn’t be so quick to judge after three dates. They just needed to get to know each other, that was all.

“I gotta admit, I was a little sceptical when Rainbow Dash told me how nice you were and what a good listener you are, but after meeting you and seeing it in like, real life, I’m glad we met! It’s nice to have someone to talk to that’s so understanding”.

Fluttershy smile turned slightly confused, unsure of where this was going, an awkward feeling coming over her the longer he held her hand between both of his. “Oh well I ah-".

“I told my girlfriend all about you and she can’t wait to meet you! She says you sound so nice!”.

And just like that, the other shoe dropped and her whole world stopped turning.

Fluttershy froze, her body tense as she stared up at him. Her stomach flipped, and she felt a creeping sickness come over her. Her mouth was dry as she spoke. “Oh your...your girlfriend" her voice cracked, pulling her hand from his and grasping her cup tightly instead.

“Yeah, she’s coming to meet me here then were going out to the park for a walk. She says that I’ve been different since talking to you, like I’m not as...weighed down anymore. She’s glad I have someone I can open up to, I don’t have many friends outside of people I know at the gym" Bulk smiled proudly and Fluttershy smiled back tremulously, battling her emotions. “How...how nice".

“Ah! There she is!”.

His face lit up and it took all of Fluttershy’s will not to break down in the cafe in front of everyone there and then.

His eyes sparkled, his grin wide but soft, his entire being more relaxed yet animated. His expression was full of...well, love.

She felt liked she’d been punched in the chest.

Bulk moved away from the table, Fluttershy hunching over as panic and distress built up inside her, struggling inwardly. She let a portion of it through, panting slightly as the strength of her emotions almost became too much before the sound of his voice made her rein it back in, pushing everything she felt aside and forcing herself to smile as she stood and met Bulk's girlfriend.

The three spoke for a while, Fluttershy's dismay growing with every passing moment before they excused themselves and left for their walk, Fluttershy waving after them before heading back home, feeling completely numb. She walked home in a daze, barely noticing everything around her, her door clicking closed behind her quietly when she finally made it home.

It wasn’t until she noticed Discord’s teacup, left on the coffee table from his earlier visit, that the dam broke and she crumpled to the floor, the tears that she had fought so hard to keep back finally breaking free, her cheeks wet in moments. Fluttershy leaned back against the door, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them as she laid her head on them, her chest hurting as she sobbed. She felt foolish, so embarrassed at herself. And even though a small part of her was relieved, she couldn’t help but feel despair.

She was tired of being lonely, tired of wanting, of feeling unseen. Each rejection left her more forlorn and despondent, until she felt she was destined to be alone forever, unworthy of love, of tenderness. It hadn’t even a proper rejection: she had just been stupid enough to believe that his interest had been physical and had let her imagination run away with her like the foolish daydreamer that she was, so desperate for any sort of attention or intimacy.

Wiping at her eyes with the heel of her palm, Fluttershy took off her shoes and placed them on the shoe rack by the door, pushing herself up off the floor and going to the coffee table, picking up Discords teacup and saucer sadly and taking it to the kitchen sink, washing and drying it along with the others. For a fleeting moment, she wanted to see him, wanted him to comfort her but dismissed the idea. He would be more likely to scoff at her than cuddle her: she could just see the disdain in his face, the smugness in his voice as he said “I told you so!”.

Feeling low and unenergetic from the days events, Fluttershy went and ran herself a bath, answering the few messages she had received then changing into her pyjamas. She made herself something to eat then snuggled up on the sofa with a blanket, watching movies and checking her social media, feeling listless and adrift. Every now and then tears would fall and Fluttershy would sob until her eyes were hot and itchy, her mouth dry from dehydration. Eventually, emotionally drained from the days events, she curled up on the couch and fell asleep.

* * *

It wasn’t until almost afternoon the next day that Fluttershy found the note shoved under her door, Fluttershy wondering how long it had been there as she bent to retrieve it.

She’d woken the next day slightly achey from sleeping on the couch, but a warm shower and a hot breakfast had lifted her mood slightly. She didn’t feel as prone to tears anymore, but the hollow, listless feeling still persisted. Thankfully, she had nothing important to attend to that day and so she decided to fill the day doing chores.

She spotted the piece of paper while vacuuming, quickly turning off the vacuum before the note could be sucked up the tube and ruined. It was a folded piece of A4 paper but when Fluttershy opened it, a small origami fish fell out of it into her hand. Around the page were what looked like half started sentences that had been scribbled out again and again, and in the centre, two small words: sorry...(again).

Fluttershy stared at the tiny paper fish in her palm, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip, unable to put a name on the feelings that were building inside of her. She looked at the paper flower, still sat in its glass vase on the coffee table and came to a decision.

Summoning every last ounce of courage she had, Fluttershy turned and opened her front door, striding across the hallway to the apartment adjacent and squeezing her eyes shut as she knocked on the door quickly. Her anxiety dialled straight up to a hundred and began to scream at her that this was a bad idea, to go back inside and think about this-

The door opened to reveal a slightly dishevelled and tired looking Discord, in the middle of eating a bowl of cereal. He wore a black sleeveless turtleneck jumper and his pant legs had been rolled up to his knees, revealing that he wore two odd socks. His cheeks bulged as he stared down at Fluttershy, swallowing his mouthful as he let his spoon clatter into the bowl. “Oh....ah...hi".

Fluttershy stared up at him, licking her lips nervously, unsure of what to say. Her hands, still clutching the paper, twitched slightly, Discord’s eyes flicking down to look, drawn to the action. “Oh so you...you got my message then" he said, turning sheepish. “I was...was gonna come over but I got home super late and I couldn’t see any sign you were up and-"

“Your offer". Discord stopped, looking down at her earnest, open features. “What?”.

“Your offer...about being friends with...with benefits" she said, her voice soft but solemn, her eyes hard and full with unspoken emotion. “Is it...is it still...would you still...want to?”.

Discord’s eyes widened, his mouth open, slack with shock. Fluttershy fidgeted under his stare, starting to regret even opening her door when he suddenly lifted the bowl, gulping down whatever was left then putting it on the floor of the doorway, wiping his mouth and chin with the back of his hand as he straightened.

“Let’s talk".


End file.
